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Father Pleads for Release of His Daughter; Ariel Castro's Home Demolished; Usher's Ex Calls for Custody Hearing; Doctor Accused of Prolonging Chemo; Dramatic New Allegation in Fort Hood Case

Aired August 07, 2013 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It's good to have you with us.

I want to begin in southern California where a desperate father is waiting to learn the fate of his two kids. Sixteen-year-old Hannah and 8-year-old Ethan Anderson went missing after their mother was killed and her body and the body of an unidentified child were found burned in a home.

Brett Anderson made an impassioned plea to the man accused of killing that woman and abducting his children. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT ANDERSON, FATHER: Jim, I can't fathom what you were thinking. The damage is done. I'm begging you to let my daughter go. You've taken everything else.

Hannah, we all love you very much. If you have a chance, you take it. You run. You'll be found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: CNN's Paul Vercammen is covering the story live in San Diego.

And, Paul, it's not hard to miss that that father did not mention the name of his son Ethan in that appeal.

Do we know anything about the whereabouts of Ethan?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is what we do know, Ashleigh. A law enforcement source told me that the remains found inside the home are consistent with those of the eight-year-old boy.

And as you indicated the father, both here at the sheriff's office and last night, had alluded to Hannah, his daughter, coming home, but did not make the same reference to Ethan, so we will have to see.

We know that they also say that, right now, Jim DiMaggio is charged with one murder and possibly could be charged with two, so it remains to be seen when they will go ahead, the coroner will come out, and officially identify the remains of the child found inside the home, Ashleigh. BANFIELD: Paul, can you explain this usual relationship? It's not as though Jim DiMaggio isn't known to this family. What is the nature of the relationship between them?

VERCAMMEN: Well, he's very well-known to this family, and in fact, many friends and relatives have suggested that Jim DiMaggio and the family had known each other for 20 years, that he had known both of these children since their birth.

It was not uncommon for them to visit him in the town of Boulevard which is near the San Diego-Mexican border about, I'd say, an hour southeast of here.

They say that the relationship was so close, that they considered him to be an uncle, and so right now, this looks to be a case, they are alleging, of absolutely horrific betrayal.

And that's what has so many friends and relatives upset. One woman, a friend of the family told me that the family had been extremely, extremely good to Jim and, at one point, he had lived with one of the grandparents in this saga that just keeps unfolding

BANFIELD: And the Amber Alert continues for Hannah and Ethan despite that very sad information that you shared with us.

Paul Vercammen continues to cover the story for us live. Thank you, Paul.

Happening right now, taking you live now, after a decade of unspeakable horrors taking place within its walls, a demolition crew is tearing down the house where Ariel Castro held Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus captive.

Some of the images that came to us this morning really quite alarming. Michelle Knight actually came to the location to watch this terrible reminder of her ordeal come crashing down.

Ariel Castro agreed to have the house demolished as part of a plea deal that gave him life in prison plus a thousand years and took the death penalty off of the table.

Our Martin Savidge, live in Cleveland, Ohio, for us now. I think a lot of people, martin, were surprised to see Michelle Knight show up there today.

Give me a bit of a feel for what she had to say and what the mood was like.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you know, I wasn't that surprised that she was here. In fact, I thought at least one of the young women would show up.

And you know, as strange as that might seem, this house still holds an attraction to them for many, many complicated reasons.

Michelle came, though, this morning to basically say thank you to the community that has supported her, the neighbors that were there that day when she was pulled from that home, and so that was her reasoning.

She is such a powerful woman in the aftermath of this, and I think many are surprised because we thought initially she might be the most fragile.

Listen to some of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KNIGHT, KIDNAPPING SURVIVOR: ... to give the missing people strength and power to know that they are loved. We hear their cries. They are never forgotten in my heart. They are caterpillars, waiting to turn into a butterfly.

Why it was important to be here today is because nobody was there for me when I was missing, and I want the people out there to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope, and their child will come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And then there was another interesting moment as the aunt of Gina DeJesus was allowed to climb into the cab of the excavator and, using its massive claw, deliver the first blow that crushed the roof of the home.

So again, the family seeing this as a moment of both triumph and closure, certainly the whole street sees it that way and they're just you have about done actually.

BANFIELD: Well, I tell you what, I was astounded to see her there, simply astounded, after having gone through 11 years of torture that she would go back to the place where those horrifying memories were forged.

But, you know, Amanda Berry also went back, but she went back to get those photographs or those pictures of her young daughter, that she bore in captivity. Apparently those pictures were in the house.

More about Ariel Castro now, a lot of people, Martin, are saying he'll get his in prison, but he is more than likely going to spend a long time in solitary in protective custody, isn't he?

SAVIDGE: He is. In fact, that's where is he right now, and he's being kept away from the general population.

He's moved out to Grafton, Ohio, and that's kind of a receiving area for the Ohio penitentiary system. He's going to be there probably for some time, going through a number of evaluations, physical and mental.

And then, essentially, what authorities are going to do is they will figure out what is the right facility in the state of Ohio to warehouse him for the rest of his life. And there are a number of those facilities that are specifically for violent sex offenders, but that decision hasn't been made yet. But his family's very worried that, yeah, he might become a trophy to somebody else behind bars if he were allowed to mix with the other prisoners.

BANFIELD: Not sure there would be a lot of sympathy, honestly, it's happened before, and most people say, sadly or not, good riddance.

Martin Savidge live for us in Cleveland at the "house of horrors," which hopefully no one will have to visit ever again, thank you, Martin.

I want to get you up to speed on some of our other top stories. The White House announcing this morning that President Obama has canceled talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin that were scheduled for Moscow next month.

This is a move that follows Russia's decision to grant asylum to the NSA leaker, Edward Snowden. Mr. Obama has decided however, that he will attend a G-20 summit scheduled in St. Petersburg next month.

A massive fire shut down the international airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenyatta International Airport in flames, take a look at the pictures. These were posted by Kenya's Red Cross on Twitter, fire engulfing the airport's entire international terminal.

The good news though, no casualties reported in this inferno.

Kenya Airways says that they have been able to resume some of the flights out of that airport. A government spokesman says he does not know what caused this fire. Yet, they are not ruling anything out at this time.

This is a strange one. Two Florida mayors busted, arrested, cuffed and led away, all because of bribery charges. Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi and Sweetwater Mayor Manuel Marono were arrested by the FBI on Tuesday following a two-year investigation.

The authorities say they accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in separate schemes. Both of them have been suspended by Florida's Governor Rick Scott.

Just ahead, Usher's son is rescued from a swimming pool, but that's the good news. The bad news is the boy's mother says the singer is not parenting properly, and she is filing an emergency custody hearing.

And our legal team is going to take this issue up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: An ugly custody battle is brewing, and it's between a superstar singer, Usher, and his ex-wife. It's unfolding once again, in fact.

We've been here before, but now we have a new incident. The 5-year- old son of Usher named Usher Raymond V was swimming at his home in Atlanta on Monday and almost drowned.

Apparently his arm got caught in the pool drain, and Usher's aunt and a housekeeper noticed the accident. They were able to get that child out, but it was a sound technician who was doing work at the house who was actually able to facilitate the rescue.

Take a listen to the aunt's frantic call to 911.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF RENA ODEN, USHER'S AUNT: My nephew was in the pool, and he -- he went in. I couldn't get him in. I couldn't -- I couldn't get him.

I tried to get him. And they got him out. They're doing CPR on him. He's five-years-old.

911: OK, stay with me. Is he breathing?

Is he breathing?

ODEN: Is he breathing? Is he breathing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is.

ODEN: He's breathing, yes, ma'am.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Just harrowing to hear that.

Usher won primary custody of his two sons with ex-wife Tameka Foster last year, and that custody fight was brutal and very public.

CNN has just learned that she has filed a motion for an emergency custody hearing because of this pool accident, and both parties have been ordered to appear before a judge on Friday afternoon of this week.

Last night, Piers Morgan spoke to Star Jones, a former prosecutor who has interviewed Usher and Foster before.

Piers asked her if this incident could have an effect on Usher's custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAR JONES, ATTORNEY: Whatever there's a custody battle, the court has already decided who is the more responsible parent to have primary custody, and, unless you can show recklessness, negligence or some sort of abuse, they are allowed both to go ahead and disturb that custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in Danny Cevallos and former prosecutor Randy Zelin.

Danny, do you agree with star Jones? It's just about the recklessness and the abuse or negligence that could change everything here, or could that actually be proven with the circumstances that we have seen unfold?

DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She's right. There has to be some wrongdoing.

I mean, it's not enough to show that an accident happened. The mom would have to show that it's something that was reckless, someone did something wrong.

This may have been a freak accident. There's no way to prevent that. But going forward, there are more allegations in this petition, specifically that he's never around, that he's gone almost 85 percent of the time and it's because he is never around, that is why he leaves the children in other caregivers who have not been approved and often the mom doesn't even know who they are.

This is what we call a petition based on changed circumstances. She's looking for a modification to change custody because she feels that usher isn't getting the job done.

BANFIELD: There are a lot of complaints that Miss Foster makes, Randy Zelin, in her complaint and obviously this will be reviewed by the court.

Among them, she's suggesting she's not getting some of the time that she's requesting when Usher is away on those alleged 85 percent of the time, those days where he's away, and that those children are in the custody of family members or nannies, et cetera.

Isn't every parenting plan kind of garden variety in stating who gets the right of first refusal to look after the children in the absence of the custodial parent?

RANDY ZELIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I mean, certainly there are boiler plates, as we like to call them, but every case stands on its own. And when parties have attorneys, the attorneys spend a lot of time and a lot of time negotiating. So you could have all different kinds of custody agreements. You can have agreements on who gets to determine what. Sometimes both parents get to determine something like medical, things like school. Other times the parent with custody. So I can't say that it's cookie cutter.

But what's interesting here, you talk about changed circumstances, Usher did not become a star yesterday. He's been a star for quite some time. I don't think his travel schedule has changed. The commitments attended to being a star have changed which means that the judge knew about Usher and his travel commitments and his life when he awarded Usher custody. So this is why we have an adversarial process. I'm very curious to hear what Usher has to say about this.

BANFIELD: And we will likely hear something because both Tameka Foster and Usher have been ordered to appear at that hearing on Friday.

I also want to note, just before I let you guys go on this topic, that Tameka Foster had a son who died last year. Apparently it was an accident involving I think a tubing accident. If anybody knows what tubing is, it's going behind a boat with a tie on an inner tube and riding along a jet ski, hit that tube and her son was killed north of Georgia on a lake last year.

Whether that would end up in this new hearing or not is remain -- you know, remains to be seen. But this is a very sad story all around. Except for the fact that that child is recovering and so we're very happy to report that the child is recovering.

Danny and Randy, thank you for the comments. Stay right where you are because I've got a couple of other cases to discuss with you later in the hour. First, however, everybody knows that being treated for cancer is difficult and painful, uncomfortable. So how about a doctor who's been arrested for dishing out extra chemotherapy patient -- extra chemotherapy treatment to cancer patients who didn't even need it?

Holy moly. Find out why and how he was caught. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The allegations that I'm about to tell you about involving a Michigan doctor are pretty electrifying. Among them, it's a doctor accused of keeping cancer patients on chemotherapy longer than they needed to be. Also misdiagnosing patients on purpose so that he could make more money by treating them.

Heather Catallo from our affiliate WXYZ has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEATHER CATALLO, WXYZ REPORTER: Exclusive video from the Seven Action News investigators, only our camera was there tonight as FBI agents rolled out several carts stacked with box after box of evidence.

The feds started raiding Michigan Hematology Oncology in Rochester Hills early this morning. And that's where they arrested this man, Dr. Farid Fata. Federal agents also searched Fata's house in Oakland Township as well as Fata's other offices in Clarkston and Bloomfield Hills. The FBI also took evidence from Fata's United Diagnostics just down the street from his Rochester Hills oncology office.

The allegations against Dr. Fata are shocking. The U.S. attorney announced today Fata is charged with healthcare fraud including allegations his practice submitted $35 million in false Medicare claims.

What's worse, federal agents say in court records that Dr. Fata allegedly kept patients on chemotherapy longer than necessary to cash in on the billings. Agents alleged Fata also directed that patients be diagnosed with cancer in their medical charts even when they did not have the disease. FBI agents also say Fata kept end-of-life patients on chemo unnecessarily.

PAT WINOWISKI, PATIENT: I think it's terrible. If he's giving them therapy and they didn't have cancer.

CATALLO: Eighty-five-year-old Pat Winowiski is fighting cancer in her lungs and liver. She is shocked her doctor was arrested today.

WINOWISKI: It's very upsetting because I really liked him.

TERRI MITCHELL, PATIENT: I trusted him.

CATALLO: Are you going to get a second opinion now?

MITCHELL: Yes, I am.

CATALLO: Terri Mitchell did not want us to show her face. But after more than seven years of treatment with Dr. Fata, she said she's starting to doubt her diagnosis.

MITCHELL: I can't understand. I've talked to many people and they say well, why are you still on Rituxan for the last seven years? Why -- you know, because he told me at the beginning it would be a year of treatment and two years of maintenance.

CATALLO: It's clear from court records that current and former employees have turned into informants, concerned about what was happening to patients. One described working for Fata as, quote, "living with this hell," but nothing the feds can say will convince Sally Kelley that the doctor she calls gentle and loving could have harmed anyone.

SALLY KELLEY, PATIENT: I don't believe a word of it. I have total faith.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Our thanks to Heather Catallo from our affiliate WXYZ for that story.

And coming up just ahead, Major Nidal Hasan makes a big fat admission in court. "I shot and killed my fellow soldiers as the Ft. Hood." And now he's facing some of the survivors of that shooting and the witnesses in that courtroom. Can you imagine what it's like to face him down? We're going to take you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: I have some breaking news to bring you out of Ft. Hood, Texas. You probably know that there is this very significant death penalty trial that's going on right now involving Major Nidal Hasan after a mass shooting at that army post.

Hasan is representing himself and had an opening statement as his own defense counsel saying the evidence will clearly show that I'm the shooter. Not the best way to open your own murder trial when you're facing the death penalty. And as it turns out, he was right. And the counsel that actually backs him up, even though he's counsel for himself -- he does have to have a shadow counsel -- they've decided enough. Enough of this. It is a circus. And they have filed an emergency motion in this court case to say he is facilitating his own death penalty. So this is a remarkable turn of events.

Our Ed Lavandera is covering this trial. He's live at Ft. Hood.

You broke the news about that astounding opening statement from defense counsel and defense -- you know, and defended himself yesterday on this program at this time. And now this. Has everything shut down or are we awaiting sort of the results of this motion?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're at a standstill right now, Ashleigh. And you know, yesterday's opening statement should have been a clear indication that this was not going to be your average ordinary murder trial. And things were not going to go smoothly as planned here. And clearly that's what we've seen.

The testimony today or the court hearing today started about 40, 45 minutes late and we got there, the jury was not in the room. No witnesses had been called so far. And this is because the lawyers that are sitting next to Major Nidal Hasan -- Hasan, as you said, is acting as his own attorney but he has this counsel to the side that can provide advice to him. They have now filed a motion with the judge that basically saying that they don't want to help him.

These are their words from this morning's hearing. Don't want to help him in achieving his goal of receiving the death sentence. It is not something a legal team should have to do. And this has brought everything to a standstill. The judge now meeting with the attorneys on both sides, presuming trying to figure out what to do next here.

We will continue to monitor the situation, but clearly, the very attorneys assigned by the military to help him along the way for procedural advice and that sort of thing basically saying that they think that Major Nidal Hasan is essentially trying to help the prosecution to insure that he get the death penalty and he be sentenced to death.

And that is something that they not -- they do not want to stand by and watch happen. So where we go from here is a huge question. And we'll continue to follow that -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Boy, I'll say. I mean, the very least of which ineffective assistance of counsel when you're your own counsel and leading yourself down the death path.

Ed, I wanted to ask you about some of this move because we're barred from even seeing this sergeant as he steps foot -- I guess he really doesn't step foot, he flies in every day in helicopter on to this post. But I wanted to ask you about something I read and it was just chilling.

It was Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford's account of what it was like when he was shot allegedly by Nidal Hasan. This is what he said. "He had a laser on his weapon and it goes across my line of sight and I blink, and in that time, he discharges his weapon the first round, I'm hit in the head." A second shot apparently caught him in the back. He tried to play dead.

And then made a completely different decision and ran for it, and was shot five more times even outside as he was receiving first aid.

What is it like for Staff Sgt. Lunsford and all of the others to be in that courtroom and face this man? And what is this man like when he sees them?

LAVANDERA: You know, we heard from a lot of these witnesses leading up to this who said you know, they would be able to handle that situation and they would do the best they can. But obviously clearly they're highly anticipating what kind you have reaction it would be like and what it would come to when it was time for them to testify and when it would be time for Major Hasan to cross-examine them.

Staff Sergeant Lunsford was not cross-examined when Major Hasan was given a chance yesterday to ask him questions. He passed on the opportunity. Major Hasan asked very few questions of almost about a dozen witnesses on the witness stand yesterday. So it was clearly going to be as his own advice counsel is saying, he was just kind of standing by and letting prosecutors get every word in throughout the day yesterday, which clearly led to the situation that we're at here today.

But I just want to be clear and clarify one thing. There is a limited number of seating inside the courtroom reserved for news media every day. This building you see behind me is set up for the bigger crowd of news media to watch on a circuit feed we have set up there. After all of this has happened, that feed has gone quiet and the judge is meeting with the attorneys now. So nothing that we can see. We're standing by to wait and see what's going to happen next as the judge is meeting with attorneys and trying to figure out how this trial proceeds.

BANFIELD: And I'm just curious. I don't know, I don't think anybody can answer it at this point whether there is going to be a competency issue that's reordered. Another reexamination of whether this man is able to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense. That's a big part of competency and it clearly doesn't sound like he's assisting in his defense.

Ed, let us know if you get some resolution on this motion. This is critical in this death penalty case.

Ed Lavandera doing an incredible job in a difficult situation.

When we come back, digging up the past. To learn the truth about now. Florida leaders have finally approved the exhuming of child graves at a closed state school for former students who claim that guards raped them, abused them and guess what, even murdered their classmates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)